Replay: A Stars Talk With Mike Heika (10/15/13)

SportsDay

Mike Heika joins us at 11 a.m., but ask your questions now and he will have them when he arrives. Thanks for your readership.

by SportsDayDFW10/15/2013 11:43:26 AM

Howdy folks, just made it to the Pepsi Center, so I'm ready to go.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:28:52 PM

With Kari out for the next few games, how defensive are the forwards going to become since we looked kind of leaky on defense Saturday.

by Jeremy G10/15/2013 4:29:01 PM

The guess would be very. The Stars of the past really tightened up defensively at times like this and tried to win 1-0 games. That was the way of the Dave Tippett and Ken Hitchcock Stars. However, in recent years, they have not had that ability. I'm not sure how the Lindy Ruff Stars will handle it. He seems to want an aggressive style where the D closes the gap and tries to keep the puck in the offensive end. That can leave the goalie exposed. We'll see if they are tighter tonight. They did a good job against Washington, and I imagine we'll see a similar game plan here.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:31:12 PM

Is there any reason specifically that Gonchar and Whitney have been struggling so much lately? Is it due to the new system? Whitney's struggles have been more noticeable to me

by Jeremy G10/15/2013 4:31:17 PM

I actually think Gonchar has been worse, but I get what you're saying. Look, they're both old. That's the bottom line. Both are coming off great seasons, but Whitney is 41 and Gonchar 39, so there will be a time when their game starts to deteriorate. The Stars believe both can do a great job in a system where they are supported, and they are trying to find out how to accomplish that task. I know that the coaches have confidence in the players, and the players have confidence in the coaches, so there is a real team effort in trying to get both players playing well. It's early in the season, so it seems prudent to give them time to shake these slumps. One of the things we've talked about in recent days is that there is a feeling this team will be better at the end of the season _ which has been a problem in recent years. You just get the feeling that when they sort things out, the Stars will improve on a month-to-month basis.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:35:16 PM

Colorado, a team supposedly with no defense or goaltending, has given up just four goals in five games? Are they doing it with smoke and mirrors? Is Semyon Varlamov the second coming of Patrick Roy? Or is Roy just that good of a coach? What gives?!

by Drew10/15/2013 4:35:21 PM

Analytically, you would think that the Avs would hit a wall after a while. They give up a lot of shots, aren't great on faceoffs, and still have a lot of young players in key roles. That said, they have a swagger that Patrick Roy has carried his whole career, and I think that's important. They believe in what they are doing and they are working together. The goaltending makes a huge difference, but so does the trust in one another and in the system.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:37:01 PM

Dan Ellis had a rough outing on Saturday in St. Paul. If he continues to struggle against Colorado and San Jose this week, do the Stars begin to panic about their backup goaltending again? Or do they just go back to a (hopefully) healthy Kari Lehtonen on the weekend and hope Ellis settles down?

by Drew10/15/2013 4:37:08 PM

Kari worked out well on Monday, and the guess is he should be able to go Saturday in LA, so it's not time to panic. They also have options beyond Dan Ellis with Jack Campbell and Cristopher Nilstorp. It just doesn't make sense from a cap standpoint or a depth standpoint to get another goalie. They'll just have to fight through any issues they have. And to be fair to Ellis, he was great in pre-season, great in Winnipeg and had stretches of great saves while being totally hung out to dry in Minnesota. I would say he has had more good moments than bad so far this season.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:39:27 PM

Both Sergei Gonchar and Ray Whitney seem to have been struggling early on. Do you think it's just a matter of time before they settle into the season and play the way they have in the past? Or is age beginning to become a factor?

by Drew10/15/2013 4:39:32 PM

Age is becoming a factor, but the Stars believe they will be fine.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:40:15 PM

The Stars gave given up 80 shots on goal over the last two games and 56 over their last four periods. What do they have to do to cut down the number of shots significantly against Colorado and San Jose? More importantly, CAN they cut them down? It seems like a club that fancies itself as a puck possession team just cannot give up so many shots on goal.

by Drew10/15/2013 4:40:19 PM

The problem with the puck possession style, in my opinion, is that it requires confidence from the players and trust between the forwards and defensemen, and those things sometimes take time to develop. It appears that the defensemen are trying to move the puck quickly from the back end and also trying to push up ice, but when they make a mistake, it really has to hurt their confidence. The guess is Brenden Dillon is going to take an extra look on every pass tonight after that bad mistake in Minnesota. Same with Sergei Gonchar and Alex Goligoski. So if you have defensemen who are cautious and a system that is asking for aggression, then it is hard to get on the same page. I think the Stars need to make some good plays and then build on those good plays. As they do that, the confidence builds, and the system will come together. That said, this has been a problem for three different coaches, so maybe personnel has a lot to do with the Stars giving up a ton of shots. I guess we'll find out more this season. The administration believes it can win with this system and these players.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:44:33 PM

Mike, a lot of attention got put on the Minnesota loss being on the second night of a back to back... I look back and see early turnovers and bad goaltending (I'm sure Ellis would have liked to have the first, second, and fourth back) putting them down early against a puck possession team. That's a recipe to lose. That they lost on the second night of a back to back was merely coincidence.

by Niko10/15/2013 4:44:45 PM

Good point. Also important is the fact that coaches and players said beforehand that back-to-back shouldn't be an issue. They had five days off beforehand, got Dan Ellis in the Winnipeg game to shake off some rust, and spread the minutes evenly among their players on Friday in Winnipeg. In a lot of ways, it was the ideal back-to-back situation for a team. Minnesota was just way, way better on that night, and the Stars did not respond well to the challenge.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:46:34 PM

Just for fun .. if you could go back one year and do something different with the Stars, knowing what you know now, what would that be? Personally, I dont know that there would be much I would change, but what do I know.

by Carl Aydelotte10/15/2013 4:47:37 PM

I don't have a list of defensemen in front of me, but I probably would have tried to get an impact defenseman. I know the cost could have been high in dollars (and the Stars are against the cap) or in prospects, but a trade or free agent would have been an interesting add. If you had to get a defenseman over a forward like Shawn Horcoff, I think that could have been an acquisition that might have had a greater immediate impact.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:49:32 PM

Mike, who's your pick to have a breakout game for the Stars tonight in Denver? Is there a particular player who seems poised to make an impact?

by Drew10/15/2013 4:49:38 PM

Not really. Chiasson is really noticeable in every practice, but he's already broken out. I would think Nichushkin might see the challenge of MacKinnon tonight and do something spectacular, but he's just not really positioned to do that right now in the way he's being used. If I had to pick one guy who might have a big night, I'd go with Jamie Benn. He plays well against the Avalanche.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:51:46 PM

Do you see any defensive changes coming? Or is this all about patience?

by Taylor10/15/2013 4:51:48 PM

I think they're going to be patient. They're in a bit of a Catch-22 in that Jordie Benn has been one of their best defensemen, so they don't want to scratch him. And it seems counterproductive to scratch Goligoski or Gonchar this early in the season, so they are sort of stuck. I think Kevin Connauton will play well when given a chance, but that will probably only come if a player is injured. And with the possible addition of Aaron Rome in a couple of games, the group gets more corwded. The coaching staff could have a tough decision on a scratch coming up, but I worry that they'll take the easy way out and just scratch Jordie Benn. That would be disappointing if he continues to play well. I think Jim Nill has to be studying trading one of his defensemen, but I'm not hearing that he's been active on anything at this time. I think he wants to be patient.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:55:06 PM

Hey Mike, I was curious how you feel Eakin is doing as the #2 center. IMO he's been OK, but I wonder if Peverly would be able to generate some more offense from their second line.

by Niko10/15/2013 4:55:11 PM

It's certainly an option. I think Erik Cole has fine on the top line, so the Stars could better use Peverley as a center and possibly push Eakin down to a line with Nichushkin, something that could help Nichuskin (with Roussel on the wing, that could be an interesting line). I also have a weird theory that you could break up Benn and Seguin, move Seguin to the Whitney-Chiasson line and have Peverley center Benn and Cole, but it's just something I was messing around with. Then, you could put Benn-Peverley-Cole against the other team's top line and maybe get some freedom for Whitney-Seguin-Chiasson. I don't think that will happen, I think the Peverley to the second line option is more realistic. That said, it doesn't appear that Lindy Ruff wants to change anything right now, so we'll wait and see.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 4:58:47 PM

Hi Mike. During the draft, I proposed the idea of trading both Stars 1st rounders, first 2nd round pick and a player or prospect for McKinnon, Drouin or Jones. Some said that this was foolishly too much. In retrospect, I believe it probably wasn't enough. So you think Jones or McKinnon would have been worth the price?

by Joey10/15/2013 4:59:06 PM

Time will tell, as always on these drafts. Nichushkin is going to be a longer-term project, just because of everything he has to deal with, so you have to accept that. The Stars seem pretty happy with Nichushkin and they really have good feelings about Jason Dickinson, so they seem happy with how it turned out. That said, I think adding a player like Seth Jones would have been the perfect fit for Dallas, and I do think his impact (both short-term and long-term) would help this organization more than anyone else who was available in the draft, in part because of his position and his skillset. Had you been able to pull a trade for Jones, I do think that would have been worth it.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 5:02:39 PM

The Stars were outplayed badly in the first period of their pre-season game in Denver, only to come out like gangbusters in the second period. Will they learn from that and come out battling more in the first period tonight? They can't afford another shaky start like the one in St. Paul.

by Drew10/15/2013 5:02:53 PM

They need to play smart, and they need to play calm. I think that's a key to success in any game.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 5:04:38 PM

Chiasson didn't score last game...*sarcasm on* Time to trade him right? *sarcasm off*

by Taylor10/15/2013 5:04:39 PM

:)

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 5:04:45 PM

How is Jordie Benn doing? Last year, he wasn't really ready for the NHL and now he seems to be a full-time NHLer. Personally, I'm not completely sold on him yet.

by JLinkTX10/15/2013 5:04:48 PM

He's been playing great in the first four games. He had a tendency to mix long stretches of solid play with bad mistakes last year, and he seems to have limited the bad mistakes. When you're a 6-7 D-man, nobody is ever sold on you (see Woywitka, Pardy, etc.), so he has to keep at it everyday and just try to be consistent.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 5:06:32 PM

How is Nichuskin doing? Is he getting frustrated at all starting off the season?

by David G10/15/2013 5:06:34 PM

The language barrier makes it tough to understand how he is feeling, but his body language says he still is engaged and trying very hard. I would think this is a frustrating experience, just because of all of the challenges. But Sergei Gonchar works with him a lot and talks to him a lot, and seems to be keeping him focused and moving forward. It's going to be very interesting watching his progress, because they have to find a good fit for him in the lineup.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 5:08:29 PM

I wasn't terribly impressed with Aaron Rome last season. But do you think he could make a positive impact on the Stars' blueline once his conditioning assignment in Cedar Park is over? With whom would you pair him and whom do you sit out from the current starting six d-men?

by Drew10/15/2013 5:08:37 PM

He is a big body and a defensive presence, and the team could use that. In a perfect world, he would probably play with either Goligoski or Gonchar to give them an anchor, but the guess is he goes in with Trevor Daley, and then Jordie Benn comes out. When you look at this group of defensemen, it is hard to find great pairings, so you have sympathy for the coaching staff.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 5:12:06 PM

Who's your pick to be the next NHL head coach to get fired? The pine under Ron Rolston's behind in Buffalo has to be getting pretty toasty, no?

by Drew10/15/2013 5:13:52 PM

I hate predicting these things, because a lot of these guys have hardly had a chance to prove themselves. I would say the fire in Buffalo is hot. There a lot of guys in their first season off to slow starts, so that might mean the firings will wait until mid-season.

by Mike Heika10/15/2013 5:16:55 PM

Well, that's enough for now. Hopefully, we'll have more to talk about next week. As always, e-mail me at mheika@dallasnews.com if you have more questions.